Paths of Earth (Gaara x Toph)

Chapter 8: The Turn

Gaara

"Sand Tsunami!" I shouted, as a large wave of sand appeared.

Toph and I had spent the last few days training rigorously. I had learned a significant amount of bending, in much easier ways that I had initially been teaching myself. Toph had been begging me to show her some of my strongest techniques and I finally caved and showed her.

"Dude, that was so cool! You really are something else Sandman. No one could react to such a large amount of sand."

I stood up and crossed my arms. "Hmph."

Toph frowned. "What is it?"

"You still haven't learned anything. You don't understand how powerful some ninjas can be. I'm confident in my strength, but no enemy should be underestimated. That's how you make a mistake and end up killed." I scolded.

'She really just doesn't understand. Toph wants to become a shinobi and I thought after the other day she'd see how violent a battle can really be. I have to make sure she can keep up."

She blew her bangs out of her face. "I know you think I'm just a weakling, but I can take care of myself you know."

"Listen, today I'm going to be training you a bit. Your chakra levels are still low, but they will suffice for now. I'm going to teach you how to create a clone."

Toph raised an eyebrow and looked towards me. "A clone?"

"Observe." I said, making a handsign. A cloud of smoke appeared next to me and a clone appeared.

"Whoa whoa whoa! There's two of you now!" She shouted.

"Precisely." I said.

For the next few hours, I taught Toph how to create a clone. I showed her the proper techniques and the handsign. Of course, she couldn't gain the full grasp of it today, but we made valuable progress and that's what matters. She couldn't practice much longer due to her lacking a higher amount of chakra, so we decided to call it a day.

We began to walk home. The sun had begun to set, and a small breeze flew through the streets of the village. I heard Toph let out a huge sigh and I turned my head to look at her, stopping in place.

She looked over towards me. "What now?"

"Nothing, just making sure everything is alright."

"Oh.. Yeah, I'm just kinda bummed that I couldn't manage to make a clone today."

I shook my head. "It takes time, the road to a shinobi isn't a steady slope. You have to practice endlessly."